30% at 500 with that much wind is very respectable. My best dog gun has been a 224 clarck with a k&p barrel on a rem 700 action. Clocked my hand swaged 60 grainers at 4260. A little hot, every once in a while my bullets would come appart, one in every 60 more or less. With 30 mile per hour wind it was fairly simple to conect at up to 400 with dogs, the rifle was not a 1/4 inch rifle at 100, maybe 3/4 at a 100 but the speed made it great for long distances. Very little drop too. I have put more than 3000 rounds through it with the same barrel, brass has to be anealed every 3 to extend life, and it will hold up to 6 to 8 loadings.
500 yard prarie dog gun
- Thread starter bddc2012
- Start date
swd
Silver $$ Contributor
Even the best 25 cal bullets have a lousy BC. I'd be looking into a fast twist 243 shooting 115 DTAC's or a 260 with 140 range VD's. 30% is awesome, but just going to a more appropriate rig you would probably be shooting 40%-50%. Good rock chuck rifles make great windy day PD guns.
Maybe it's just me but I enjoy seeing the pdogs and the extra long shots also, the point in his post.
You will never see the hits thru your scope with that big of a gun and that much powder. Part of the
fun is being able to see your hits thru the scope, recoil is your enemy. Sure you could also buck the wind
better with a 50BMG/338 Lapua, and I like the way you guys think, but you will miss the "show"
The .223 with a 53 gr. V-Max or a .204 with a 39gr. SBK are easily 500 yard rifles.
You will never see the hits thru your scope with that big of a gun and that much powder. Part of the
fun is being able to see your hits thru the scope, recoil is your enemy. Sure you could also buck the wind
better with a 50BMG/338 Lapua, and I like the way you guys think, but you will miss the "show"
The .223 with a 53 gr. V-Max or a .204 with a 39gr. SBK are easily 500 yard rifles.
WOW.... that is a lot of drift. That made me look at my 22-243 AI with 80 amaxes at 3558 fps... it has 27.4 in drift with 20 mph cross wind.... I guess that is good...?
My 20-250 AI at 3950 fps with 55 bergers is 29.5 inches... is that good....?
My 20-250 AI at 3950 fps with 55 bergers is 29.5 inches... is that good....?
I'm not the best shot, but I'm not the worst either and 30% hits on 500 yd prairie dogs on a calm wind day is pretty decent. 22-28 mph winds are pretty stout, if you can pull off 30% hits in that then my hats off to you. I know there's a certain amount of "grade inflation" that happens when guys are recalling their prairie dog hunts, but I've never shot with anyone that could turn in numbers better than that in those wind conditions.
My longer range prairie dog rifle is a 6mm br shooting 105 amaxs, it comes out when it's windy or the ranges get on the plus side of 350. Inside that I use my 22-250 shooting 55 gr. ballistic tips at 3600 or so, it does great but in windy conditions it kind of turns into a wiffle ball past 400 yds.
My longer range prairie dog rifle is a 6mm br shooting 105 amaxs, it comes out when it's windy or the ranges get on the plus side of 350. Inside that I use my 22-250 shooting 55 gr. ballistic tips at 3600 or so, it does great but in windy conditions it kind of turns into a wiffle ball past 400 yds.
CatShooter
I have spent a fair amount of time on Prairie Dog towns, and if all four of your truck tyres are on the ground in a cross wind, it is a calm day. You CANNOT WIN, by fighting a cross wind.
Forget about fighting wind with heavy bullets.
Set up so the wind is 12 o'clock in your face or 6 o'clock at your back, and don't worry about wind drift... shoot fast fragile bullets and watch them fly!
Forget about fighting wind with heavy bullets.
Set up so the wind is 12 o'clock in your face or 6 o'clock at your back, and don't worry about wind drift... shoot fast fragile bullets and watch them fly!
I also have a super accurate rem sender in 25-06 but no caliber is going to be super reliable @ 500yds in that much wind! I use 115 bergers in mine and it will hold minute of angle @ 1000yds in up to 10 mph wind. after that it is a crap shoot. one thing is the bergers will hold the wind better than anything else I have tried!
Well I live in prairie dog country and my 25-06 kills pd's nicely. Favorite load for that is 90 grain sierra HP with 4350. I want to say I was getting about 3650 at 4000 feet elevation. It does a great job but other calibers are more efficient at this. And yeah the winds makes the shooting suck somedays
My 30% kill ratio was on my first ever PD shot though I have been shooting local benchrest @ 100 yards for years.I underestimated the effect of wind on a bullets flight it was very tough for awhile to even see where the bullet was hitting even with my oldest son spotting for me.I shot 86 shots one day the rifle never got close to being hot while shooting 53.5 gr of H4350 with 87 gr Bergers I believe there is room to fine tune this combination for this season.but as stated in an earlier reply to this post it is tough to shoot in the wind.Pratice,practice,practice.
Thanks for all the replies keep the information flowing
Thanks for all the replies keep the information flowing
25-06 wants a Fowler 100 gr flat base at 3100.
All bets are off when the wind is blowing hard. 30% is pretty good in my mind. I like the 25-06 for deer hunting but you could go to a 6MM BR with warm loads and probably do much better and at a cheaper cost per round fired. They are just great flat shooters and plenty fast enough while bucking the wind as well as just about anything out there. And they are easy on the barrels and reloading budget too. Have fun.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.